Disclaimer: DUN-DUN-DUNN own anything!
Authors' note: The terrors of dating. And how I pity Hotch...
Annie put the broom against the door as her phone started ringing. She looked at the kids playing outside as she went through her pockets. A smile spread on her lips when she recognized the caller-ID.
"Hotch, hi!"
"Uhm, hi... Annie." She blushed when she realized how eager she sounded. Not cool.
Both ends were quiet as they waited on the other to speak. "So, uhm. Do you need me to take Jack home today?" Annie finally broke the silence.
"No! I uh... the American serial killers seem to be taking a break at the moment." She smiled.
"Or maybe you just caught all of them."
"Well, as long as people are being born so are potential serial killers."
"But what if they just stay potential?"
"I'm afraid there's too much bad TV for all of them to stay potential." She laughed. "But actually I called about the... uh... dinner invitation."
"Yeah?" She tried to keep her voice calm afraid that the excitement she felt was detectable.
"Yeah, so I wanted to know if you like Chinese food?"
"I love Chinese food!" Too eager - calm yourself!
"Good... I know this nice Chinese Restaurant so uh... Are you free this Saturday?"
"Yes! I... um... believe I am..." Be still – don't dance! Yet...
"Okay, then I'll pick you up around 6.45 if that sounds alright."
"It sounds perfect!" She couldn't help it, she had to do a victory dance. "Then I'll see you Saturday."
"Saturday."
She squealed as she started waving her arms around and jumping up and down. It was a date! He made a joke! He asked her out this Saturday! Charlotte had to know!
She started texting when she realized Mrs. Terragni stared at her with a confused look on her face.
"He invited me out this Saturday," Annie explained with a broad grin. "We're having Chinese food."
Mrs. Terragni nodded.
"Someone I know?"
Annie's dancing came to a halt. "Well, actually..."
"Jack Hotchner's father?" Annie nodded. "I expected so." The older woman put something on the table and then faced Annie again. "That's a big project you're starting there."
Annie looked dumbfounded, "A project? What?"
"Those Hotchner-men has been through a lot. Don't expect them to magically heal all of their wounds just because you spend time with them." She smiled. "Though I don't think you're that naïve." She went back to tidying up the play space.
"Aren't you going to...?" Annie asked in a small voice. The kindergarten didn't exactly have a policy on dating parents of the kids they tended, but she had thought that at least the old-fashioned Mrs. Terragni would have an opinion in the matter.
"I'm not going to scold you if that's what you think." She shrugged. "But you should consider what you know and what you want from this... relationship." Annie blushed. "You're an intelligent young woman. I expect you to be on your best behavior this Saturday. We wouldn't want to lose one of our kids because of a failed date now, would we?"
She left Annie alone in the room he cheeks hot with embarrassment. Then the grin returned and she started dancing again.
"Saturday." He repeated it quietly when he ended the call. The whole "calling and asking out"-part had turned out to be incredibly easy. The fact that she had sounded so enthusiastic when she answered the call helped quite a bit too.
He leaned back in his chair his face relaxing into a small smile.
She had laughed at his joke. That felt good. He wasn't a big joker but they came naturally to him when he talked to her. That was a first.
He should probably tell Rossi. He had been very helpful with his advices. But then again – if he told he was going on a date he would have to tell him how it went. Did he really want to tell the older agent how it went if it was a big failure? And what if it wasn't?
Hotch sighed. Pulling away from his thoughts he reminded himself that he wasn't a 15-year old girl. He picked up some papers. He would give them to Rossi and casually mention the date.
He left his office reassuring himself that it wasn't silly. Besides, telling his friend he was going on a date meant he'd had to give a full report next Monday.
They were all grown-ups. Except Jack. He stopped.
JACK! He had to call Jessica and ask her to watch him Saturday. He turned and walked back towards his office.
But couldn't that wait? He took a few steps back towards Rossi's office.
She said she would be happy to watch Jack if he got a date. She even said she would stay over night. Not that it would be an option. Annie surely wasn't that kind of woman. Right? Or did she expect that kind of thing?
Hotch felt his breath hitch and he walked to Rossi's office with rushed steps.
There was only one man who could answer these types of questions!
Reid and Morgan watched their superior walk back in forth with confusion and worry painted in their faces.
"Do you think something is up with Hotch?" Morgan asked his friend and colleague.
"I think he looked afraid." Reid licked his lip uncomfortable with his boss showing that kind of vulnerability.
"It looked like he remembered something." Morgan forced his eyes from the closed door to Rossi's office to the face of the young genius by his side. "Do you think he's gotten dementia?"
"There're around 6.8 million in the US who're diagnosed with senile dementia and it's been estimated that more than half of the population with an age of 85 or more are ill, too, diagnosed or not. But there's a lot of different kinds of dementia. Like Huntington's disease or HAD which is HIV-associated dementia, but I don't think that's what Hotch's got."
"Is Hotch old enough to get senile dementia?"
Reid was caught by surprised, as he realized he didn't have an answer. "I don't know how old he is."
The two men looked at each other in shock. In perfect synchrony they rose and all but ran for Garcia's office.
Never had there been more need for the Oracle of Quantico.
Seriously – does anybody know how old Hotch is?